Last night, Sean Hannity, the unofficial chief of staff and Bedtime BFF to Donald Trump, used his television show to advise Trump not to fire DAG Rod Rosenstein despite a New York Times report that he had suggested secretly recording Trump and evoking the 25th Amendment. Rest assured Hannity’s advice had nothing to do with integrity.
It was something of a surprise from Hannity, given his obsession with destroying the Russia investigation overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. So why the sudden restraint? Because conspiracy theory.
HANNITY: Rod Rosenstein is in big trouble tonight, as are others as we are witnessing a deep state coup. I’ll explain in detail. There is no doubt any longer. And by the way, we have a very special message for the president of the United States tonight. He needs not to fall into a trap.
Hannity patted himself on the back for his foresight in this matter while forgetting how he has repeatedly attacked The New York Times and the use of anonymous sources (which the Times’ Rosenstein article relied on) as untrustworthy:
HANNITY: Now, for months, we have literally been shouting from a mountaintop. As a matter of fact, well over a year now, that this whole process is and has been corrupt. Nobody in this equation can be trusted tonight.
And now, we have confirmation.
But then Hannity claimed the report was part of some deep state conspiracy:
HANNITY: The president needs to know it is all a setup. He needs to know that regardless of whether he steps in or not, and I would argue he should definitely not. The deep state tonight is crumbling from within at this very hour. They are now turning against each other.
Later, Hannity spoke with regular guest and fellow Trump worshipper, Sara Carter. He referred to her as an "investigative reporter." But Carter's “reporting” appears only on her blog and is not considered suitable enough for Fox News, which labels her a “contributor.”
HANNITY: [W]hat the left was hoping for with Rod Rosenstein is the president would jump in and they’d get a Friday night massacre and they flip it on the president.
CARTER: Yes, what you are hearing is what I’m hearing as well, Sean.
[…]
I think the president has no other choice here and the Department of Justice but to launch a full investigation according to my sources, a complete investigation and then make his decision after that investigation or if evidence arises that this is what Rod Rosenstein asked people to do, wiretap the president, or he, himself, would wiretap the president and try to push people towards removing the president from office citing the 25th Amendment. Then the president eventually needs to fire him. That absolutely must happen.
HANNITY: But not the time … But the president on both these issues we’re talking about tonight needs to stay out of it. Because they set a trap for him today.
[…]
So, you know, Rod Rosenstein certainly deserves to be fired … But the president needs to stay out of it. … [I]t needs to be Jeff Sessions. … [T]he deep state wants him to do it so they can bludgeon him.
Watch Hannity use his show to broadcast strategy to Trump below, from the September 21, 2018 Hannity.
(All transcript excerpts via FoxNews.com, with my emphases added)
In simple terms, it’s too close to the November vote. Had this come out in June, Rosenstein and Mueller would have been fired within hours of the story breaking.
The Rosenstein story is confusing. I’ve heard the NYT’s reporter put forward a convincing case his story is accurate. NBC puts together a convincing argument based upon their sources it’s not. Rosenstein denies the NYT story but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Of course the irony is Trump calls the NYT the “failing NYT” and considers it “fake news”. But when a NYT article suits him he will accept it as truth his deep state fever dream is real.